i will agree with the original post of the pings. they did in fact create the "forgiving era" of golf equipment.

Personally i think the best irons made were the fg-17s by wilson staff.

Ive heard they are possibly the hardest irons to hit in the game. i read somewhere that a guy was at the range and the golf pro showed him by making a circle with a permanent marker where the sweetspot was. it was barely the size of a dime!

I also hit one....and i remember incredibly when i hit probly 30-40 shots of what i thought were "good" and then all of the sudden i hit this beauty. it not only did what i wanted in the air with a soft draw, hitting right off the pin to 4 feet at the range. It felt like HEAVEN! INCREDIBLE! It was as if a stradivarius is shotty in every way but one single note which sounds of angels. I have to buy a set somehow so i can search high and low for that feeling again.

I know have Wilson "Staff" blades which i think are circa 76. very solid. not sure if they are much different but im intending on reshafting them with either nippons or kbs tours.

For my money in my opinion the best irons are the Miura 1957 blades. Period. Forge and pressed in Hemiji

If you have ever played these blades or play them now you will know why and what I am a saying here. If not and you are a good iron player you may wish to have a set built up for you. You will not be disappointed. These are simply the best irons you can put in your hands. If you like blades do your self a favor - you really should check these out.

Alot of players on tour have him forge and grind up sets for them even though they may officialy "play" titleiest or nike or taylormade or whatever there are a lot of custom made miruras on tour. If you ever play a round with these irons you'll get it.

I have played just about every iron one can purchase here in the US (that means produced in China) but the Japanese irons are just so superior. Most irons sold in the US are produced in China and the China quality is well China quality....don't get caught up in the name of the iron get caught up the in quality of the iron.

i look up the miura 57s and the most common thing i find is either something incredibly expensive or a wedge which i believe they made recently?

what is alluring of miura? is in compared to say what i feel could be the best shaft in golf, IMOP, Nippon? or forgings like tourstage? i saw on a site recently a "Poll/Vote" of the best irons and the company winning was Epon? with miura behind slightly.

know japan in history was renown for their forging and folding of swords all the way up to world war 2. (generals and high ranking officers carried them) i think in vietnam the vietnamese actually used swords in some ways. and they were made for them by japan. ALMOST like heckler and koch make guns for just about any country haha. BUT not the real conversation.

Other than companies like macgregor and wilson staff....(mizuno japanese?) i feel that were missing out on the best products known to man when it comes to the japanese market. irons that have almost a mythical following. I only say mythical because the US has been held back from meeting these companies.

I think companies like mizuno and bridgestone are only in the states because what they develop products elsewhere. tires, and baseball equiptment ha

maybe miura can make some kind of incredible basketball shoe...then we will see them much bigger in the states hahaha

You are right about the Bubble shaft, it was a great shaft and the LCG Irons were great also. The grips are still available through Golfsmith, they are .860 and best when used with a tool to slip them on.

The old Pings are just that, old Pings. They were great in their day, but that day is over although many still play them, and good for them.

The old Clevelands that Pavin won the open with were fine clubs. The design was perfect, trouble was they weren't pretty. But the were effective. The VAS was the model.

The 01 Burners are a great club and every bit as good as the new Rocketblades, I have hit both and see nothing but a new version.

And of course anything from Muira is quality. That does not mean they are for everybody, but they are one of the best as far as quality goes.

2002 Big Berthas, great Irons, and still bring a good price. Every bit as good as EYE 2s

I've played the 1998 Hogan Apex Blades since they debuted, love the irons but have 3 sets with grooves completely gone now. Hogan no longer exists so I am seriously considering a set of Muira Small Blades. Expensive but a whole different world when it comes to irons. Despite the popularity I have no interest in cavity back irons and the hype that they offer a golfer a more forgiving oprion. While cavity backs promote this idea it is really a function of getting a significant amount of weight below the ball to get the ball airborne. The player never really improves hitting these cloddy weapons......and science has proven that a dead center hit is significantly better on a blade than a cavity back. I prefer to be rewarded for ON CENTER hits rather than the illusion of reward for OFF CENTER hits. Try a true blade if you haven't The smaller sole alone will give you a better strike. Your swing will improve over time as you are rewarded for ON CENTER hits. Believe me, you will find the center more often with THAT as an incentive. Best wishes!

I'd vote for the Wilson FG-17s as a pretty iconic iron when I was picking the game up seriously (early '80s) - loads of people I knew were after them (or the Hogan Apex of the time). Finally got myself a set as an ~14 y/o and they stayed with me from about 18 to 5 handicap when they were about worn out. Despite what's mentioned above, I don't remember them as being overly hard to hit cf. other blades of the time - they were sweet to both look at and flush a shot with though.

Mizzy's MP-32s and 33s get a lot of love (Mizuno's zenith?) and I do like the look of their older MP-14s.

Hard not to think of Ping Eye 2s as a game changer though given their popularity and the game pretty much owes the current perimeter weight/cavity scene to Ping in general.

Adam CB3 with the satin black finish. Its like butter. Best irons period but theyre not cheap. Pings are over rated IMO. Take it from me....my G5s havent left the garage in years so I think Ill put them up on ebay.

The best set of irons was and always will be the Ben Hogan APEX II... sure they are blades and everyone complains about there being a small sweet spot... but they beautiful clubs and they feel amazing when you hit that sweet spot.